


Just Powers

by Requiem



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, accidental bed sharing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:42:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26100607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Requiem/pseuds/Requiem
Summary: A hole opens in the sky while Josephine is en route to Ferelden from Antiva. Not long after, her convoy runs into trouble: demons pouring out of a tear in the Fade. Just as all hope seems to be lost, a stranger with a glowing green mark on their left hand jumps in to save the day.
Relationships: Josephine Montilyet/Female Trevelyan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 34
Collections: Press Start VI





	Just Powers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ziskandra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ziskandra/gifts).



> So Leliana probably only got in touch with Josephine _after_ the Breach was opened, and Josephine probably came to Haven from Orlais not Antiva (seeing as she was the Antivan ambassador to Orlais before joining up with the Inquisition), but we're just going to ignore all that.

There was a strange green light in the road ahead. Strange lights were always a cause for suspicion, especially when they bore uncanny resemblance to the swirling vortex that was currently occupying the sky above the Temple of Sacred Ashes.

"Please stay here, Lady Montilyet," said one of the guards accompanying her. "We will ensure the road ahead is clear."

"Of course, Lucio."

Josephine held her horse back as the guards went to investigate, stroking its mane to calm her nerves. No one they'd met had been able to tell them what had transpired at the temple, reporting only the same violent shaking and explosion of light that they'd seen and felt for themselves. Josephine had to wonder if there would even be anything left of Haven once they got there.

She was pulled out of her musings by an unearthly screech from up ahead, followed by frantic yelling from her guards. The bend in the road was preventing her from getting a clear view of what was happening, so she nudged her reluctant horse forward a few steps in order to get a better look.

Demons…everywhere. It was the first time she'd seen a demon let alone so many of them at once. They were emerging from the green rift in the middle of the road, clawing their way out of the Fade with alarming speed and ease.

There was a scream to Josephine's left, and she turned in time to see Danilo fall, his chest torn open by the terror demon standing over his body. To the right, a rage demon engulfed Marcela in flames, her screams quickly tapering off.

Josephine couldn't just stand there and watch her guards be massacred before her eyes, but there was little she could think of that would help. It'd been a long time since she'd last taken up arms, even longer since she'd trained with any weapons, and the only other people within reach were farmers who had likely never picked up a weapon in their life.

A yell preceded an unfamiliar figure running in to join the fray. They were encased from head to toe in plate armour, and wielded their sword and shield with deadly precision, felling the rage demon and a shade before Lucio also succumbed to the terror demon. Emilia and the warrior both turned their efforts towards the terror demon. Emilia was the first to reach it, scoring a hit on one of its arms, but it only picked her up with its other hand and began to squeeze.

The warrior took advantage of the terror demon's distraction to leap at it from the other side, driving their sword into its neck. The demon released Emilia, who crumpled into a heap on the ground, and tried to make a grab for the warrior instead, but they batted its hand away with their shield. They then thrust their sword in even deeper and yanked it out, the terror demon letting loose one final shriek before collapsing.

The two wraiths and a shade that remained fled from the battlefield as if sensing their impending demise. Josephine could see the rift pulsing as if another demon was trying to come through, but the warrior raised their left hand, and a stream of green light flew forth to make contact with the rift. It pulsed once, twice, then vanished.

"Who are you?" Josephine couldn't help but blurt out.

The warrior whirled around, readying their sword and shield. They didn't lower either when they caught sight of Josephine. "Where did you come from?"

Josephine dismounted and slowly led her horse forward, keeping her hands in plain sight. "These were my guards."

The warrior relaxed a little. "Ah. I'm sorry. I couldn't save them."

"Who are you?" Josephine asked again. "How did you do that?"

The warrior was still for a moment, then they shifted their sword to their left hand so that their right would be free to pull off their helmet. Underneath was a dark-haired woman, her features as fine as any noble's Josephine had ever seen. Come to think of it, her armour and weapons were neither the cheap, mass-produced equipment allocated to foot soldiers, nor the mismatched gear of a mercenary. A passing knight, perhaps?

"I'm uh…Evelyn." She didn't offer a last name. "And to be honest, I don't know. But if I can help with this, whatever this _is_ ," she gestured at the fallen demons around her, "I will. And you are?"

"Josephine." She didn't offer her last name either; should Evelyn's intentions turn out to be less than pure, Josephine didn't want to give out any information that could be used against her.

"Where were you headed?" Evelyn asked. "Maybe I can help you get there."

Josephine gestured towards Haven where the massive rift, not unlike the one Evelyn had just closed, swirled like turbulent storm clouds over the mountains.

"Hm. Not a good idea," Evelyn said as she slung her shield onto her back and began cleaning the blood and viscera off her sword. "Things are a right mess up there."

Josephine's interest was piqued. "You were at Haven? What was it like there?"

Evelyn grimaced. "Not pretty: the Temple of Sacred Ashes was a smoking ruin, there were charred bodies everywhere, and oh, how could I forget the fucking demons? More of them in one spot than I'd ever seen in my entire life. Which isn't saying much considering I haven't seen all that many demons before, but take my word for it: there were a lot of them."

"And the village?"

"I don't know, I didn't dare to look. I just came down off the mountain as quickly as I could."

"Then that's where I must go."

"Up there? Are you serious? I just told you to stay away."

"There could be survivors, people who need help. I've come this far; I'm not going to turn back now."

"You're crazy, you know that?" Evelyn sheathed her sword and crossed her arms as she fixed Josephine with frown. "Do you even have a weapon?"

"I do." Josephine didn't elaborate; she had a small knife belted to her waist under her coat that she used more for eating than any other purpose, but it was a weapon nonetheless. "Thank you for your assistance, Evelyn, but I must see to my guards then be on my way if I'm to reach the foot of the mountains before nightfall."

Evelyn let out a disbelieving huff. "I'll help you with the bodies. It's the least I can do."

They dragged the bodies—or in some cases, what little was left of them—off the road to where the ground was softer and easier to dig into. There wasn't time to dig four separate graves, so they did the best with what they could and left four large stones and a scattering of wildflowers to mark the spot.

"Please, take this as a token of my gratitude," Josephine said as she held out a thin gold bracelet. Evelyn looked like she didn't have much in the way of supplies, and Josephine didn't want to send her off without some kind of reward for coming to her aid.

Evelyn shook her head. "Keep it. I'm coming with you. I didn't save you just to let you ride off to your death."

Josephine didn't retract her hand. "If you're to be my new guard, I really ought to pay you."

"I'm not your bodyguard. We're just…travelling together. For a time. As long as you can feed me, it'll be payment enough."

It was an odd request, especially coming from someone Josephine had met all of an hour ago and who had been staunchly adamant about staying away from the mountain. Josephine studied Evelyn's face, but couldn't find any trace of malice or deceit.

"Suit yourself." She slipped the bracelet back onto her wrist.

They gathered up the salvageable supplies that had fallen when the horses of Josephine's guards had fled or been killed, and loaded them onto Josephine's horse, then continued the journey on foot.

"The way you fought…are you a templar?" Josephine asked to fill the silence that descended between them.

"No, I flunked out of templar school," Evelyn replied. "They did teach me a few neat tricks, though."

Josephine knew of no templar that could do what Evelyn had. "Your accent—Free Marches?"

"Yes."

"Markham? Ostwick?"

"Why are you headed up the mountain?" Evelyn asked instead of answering. The hand she'd had resting on the hilt of her sword was now tight around the pommel. "Don't tell me it's just because you want to see what happened."

"I was to meet someone in Haven, and I'm not turning back until I hear from them, or…otherwise." Josephine didn't see how Leliana could have escaped the explosion when it seemed like there'd been no survivors, but if anyone could, it would be her.

-

It took them two days to reach the smouldering wreckage of Haven. Josephine should have expected it after several farmers and travelling merchants had reported seeing smoke coming from that direction a few days after the rift had been opened, but the sight still managed to take her by surprise.

"It's all gone," she murmured, leaning on her horse as her knees grew weak.

"Just like at the temple." Evelyn dragged her boot through a pile of ash, drawing grey streaks across the fresh snow. "The person you were supposed to meet—did you want to…" Evelyn trailed off, but there was no need for her to continue; what bodies they could see were scorched beyond recognition, and even if Josephine could stomach the task, she didn't think she would be able to determine whether Leliana was among them.

Josephine shook her head. "There's nothing we can do. Let's go."

If Leliana was still alive, Josephine would have heard. If not directly, then from one of Leliana's 'little birds' she had stationed across Thedas. It'd been nearly a week now since the rift had first opened, and there'd been nothing.

As Evelyn and Josephine backtracked to the village they'd spent the previous night in, Evelyn offered to escort Josephine to Redcliffe where she would be able to take on new guards to see her safely back to Antiva.

"If you're willing to accompany me as far as Redcliffe, why not Antiva City?" Josephine replied half-jokingly.

Instead of laughing it off, Evelyn's face grew sombre. "The mark on my hand seems to get worse the further I get from the temple."

Josephine frowned. She'd noticed Evelyn rubbing her left hand a few times, but she hadn't before now said anything about it bothering her. "Worse how?"

"I can't describe it, but I don't think I want to discover what happens if I push it too far."

"What will you do? Stay in Ferelden forever?"

"It's starting to seem like that's my only option."

"Perhaps you should let a mage look at your hand." Josephine hadn't seen the mark for herself yet, but given that the rift seemed to be a tear in the Veil, it made sense that a mage would be more helpful than a physician.

"Who, exactly? The renegades having been keeping their heads down since demons started sprouting everywhere, and if I go to the circle, there's no guarantee they'll let me leave."

"Maybe we'll find someone in Redcliffe."

-

The village was in an uproar when they reached it at the cusp of twilight. A shriek that sent chills down Josephine's spine suggested that a rift was open nearby.

"Run!" a villager screamed as she passed them by. "Get away from here while you still can!"

Evelyn unsheathed her sword and slid her shield onto her left arm. "Get everyone to cover," she told Josephine. "I don't need them getting in my way."

While Evelyn ran towards the source of the commotion, Josephine began herding the terrified villagers into the most sturdy building in the village, a stone root cellar that barely had enough space for all of them.

"We should have run," one of them whispered as the cellar door shook with the force of an explosion outside. "We're going to die here."

"We're not," Josephine said firmly. "I've never met a better fighter than Evelyn."

"But what can one person do against a hoard of demons?"

As murmurs of doubt began to ripple through the crowd, the noise outside stopped. Everyone held their breath.

"All clear," Evelyn called.

Outside the root cellar, bodies of demons and villagers alike were scattered across the fields. While the villagers were more preoccupied with identifying the dead or marvelling at how the rift had disappeared, Josephine only had eyes for Evelyn. She was sitting on an upturned wagon with her helmet and gauntlets off as she probed at a wound in her side.

"Are you alright?" Josephine asked as she approached Evelyn.

"Bloody terror demon got its claws through my armour." Evelyn's hand was red when she removed it from her side, and she was swaying slightly without seeming to notice it.

"Let's get you inside."

"There's a hole in my shirt," Evelyn said plaintively as Josephine pulled her to her feet.

"I'll fix it for you." Josephine let Evelyn lean on her for support as they slowly made their way across the field.

On their way back into the village proper, one of the villagers caught sight of them and went to fetch the healer while another invited them to stay in her home.

The wound didn't end up looking so bad once the bleeding stopped. The healer applied a poultice, then he and Josephine left Evelyn to get some rest.

"I was speaking with some of the villagers who fought alongside your friend in there," he said when they were outside. "They had some interesting things to say. And I saw for myself the mark on her hand." He raised his hand as Josephine made to speak. "Many more of the villagers would have died today if not for her help. I do not think you need to fear retribution from anyone here. But people will talk. They will tell others of the mysterious woman with the power to close rifts. It may attract the attention of…certain parties."

Josephine could already think of several such parties without much effort: mages, the Chantry, those who would blame Evelyn for the rifts opening, and those who would seek to use her talents for their own gain.

"Yes, we cannot stay. It was never our intention to linger in the first place."

The healer bowed his head. "I wish you well on your journey. And thank you for your assistance."

Josephine and Evelyn left early the next morning. There was no sneaking out of the village when so many of them arose early to work the fields, but by now, word had spread about what Evelyn could do, and no one prevented them from leaving. When Josephine looked back, the faces of the villagers were an equal mix of admiration and fear.

The journey to Redcliffe would usually take two weeks, but there was no shortage of rifts along the way to keep them busy. Evelyn insisted on stopping to close each one even when she hadn't fully recovered from the last encounter, and though by the end of two weeks they were only halfway to Redcliffe, Josephine couldn't bring herself to stop Evelyn from going to the aid of every hapless village they passed by.

The latest such village was larger than most, boasting private rooms for hire on the upper floors of the tavern, whose owner had been more than happy to provide Josephine and Evelyn with a room each for the night. Evelyn, nursing several broken ribs, had immediately retired with a healing potion and a small pouch of crushed frostrock, but Josephine stayed up late into the night fielding questions from the villagers and collecting news from across Ferelden.

When she was finally able to make her way to bed, she passed Evelyn's room on the way to hers, and paused at the light coming through the gaps around Evelyn's door.

"Evelyn?" Josephine softly called out.

"Come in."

Evelyn was sitting on the bed with her back against the wall, looking down at her hands in her lap. A candle on the table by the door was down to its last legs.

"Is everything alright?" Josephine sat down on the bed next to Evelyn.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Evelyn murmured. She continued without waiting for a reply. "I was there when the rift at the temple opened. I still don't know what happened, but there was this light all around me…I was walking down a hallway…I opened a door…then I saw her. Divine Justinia. She was calling out to me. Something rolled across the floor. I picked it up, and then…I woke up, I think. The temple was destroyed, the rift was open, and there I was, with this mark on my hand." Evelyn ran her thumb over the palm of her left hand. "Maybe I did it. Maybe all this is my fault. When I woke up I could hear people combing through the wreckage nearby, but I ran instead of facing them."

Josephine reached over and gently took Evelyn's hand in hers. "Even if you somehow did open that rift, I don't believe you would ever have done it on purpose. It had to be an accident. Or merely a coincidence. Perhaps that mark on your hand is simply a consequence of being so close to the rift when it opened."

"Perhaps." Evelyn squeezed Josephine's hand. "At least it lets me do some good."

-

Josephine wasn't sure when she'd fallen asleep, but when she opened her eyes, it was no longer night. And she wasn't alone in the bed.

"Josephine?" Evelyn's bleary voice came from right next to her ear.

"Oh, Maker, I'm so sorry!" Josephine tried to get up, but between Evelyn, the wall, and the blanket they were tangled up in, it was a difficult undertaking.

"It's alright." Evelyn muffled an almighty yawn behind her hand. "You can stay if you'd like. It's still early."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't meant to impose on you." Josephine managed to scramble up into a sitting position. "I have my own room, I can—"

"Josephine." Evelyn's hand caught hers. "Don't leave because you think that's what I want."

Josephine's breath caught in her throat. "What—what is it you _do_ want?"

"I would very much like for you to stay."

Josephine looked down at their joined hands where Evelyn's grip was slipping, and hesitated only for a moment longer before entwining their fingers. She let Evelyn tug her back down towards the mattress, shifting slightly so that they ended up face to face.

Evelyn leaned in for a kiss, her lips rough from exposure to the wind and sun and from constantly being chewed on, but gentle, almost hesitant. It was up to Josephine to deepen the kiss, and though Evelyn had initiated it, she easily relinquished control to Josephine until she suddenly jerked away with a cut-off groan.

Josephine looked down in concern to find Evelyn wincing as she pressed a hand to her ribs.

"We should probably hold off on getting too…excited for a day or two."

"Of course." Josephine carefully placed another small kiss on Evelyn's lips, then laid back down on the bed, making sure to not to jostle her. "You were right," Josephine said as she listened to Evelyn taking careful breaths next to her. "I should stay."

Evelyn chuckled. "I'm glad you liked that just as much as I did."

"I did, but I didn't mean just that. I was talking about Ferelden." Josephine caught Evelyn's eyes with her own and held her gaze until understanding dawned on Evelyn.

"You want to stay here? With…me?"

"You're making a difference. I want to be a part of that. You can't do this alone and you don't know who you can trust, but I can help. I can speak to the villagers for you, keep them from getting too curious, negotiate for board and supplies. And I might not be able to fight demons like you can, but I can still have your back and we can trade watches when we have to make camp."

"What about Antiva? I don't know much about the Fade, but I don't think the rifts will confine themselves to Ferelden."

"We'll find a way to stop them. Perhaps all you need to do is close the one that started it all."

"I don't think I can; every time I connect with a rift, I can feel something fighting back. A rift as big as the one at the temple…I don't think I can win."

"We'll find a way."

-

Redcliffe was teeming with apostates who'd taken refuge there from the war. An oddly large number of them were dressed in robes of Tevinter style, and the longer Josephine looked, the greater the feeling of unease in her stomach grew.

"I don't like this," Evelyn murmured, shifting her shield from her back to her shoulder where it would be in closer reach. "Where are the arl's soldiers? You'd think they'd be in the streets keeping order."

"Perhaps he's called them back to the castle."

They looked up at the road leading to the castle and saw only more robed figures. The Tevinter robes were starting to look like a uniform to Josephine's eyes.

"I don't think so," Evelyn said. "We shouldn't stay."

"Should we not at least ask some of the mages to look at your hand? I know it's been troubling you."

"No, I don't know who here can be trusted to keep their mouth shut and I don't want you asking around alone. I'll be fine once we start heading back towards the mountains."

So they left Redcliffe, travelling north along the shores of Lake Calenhad until they came upon a fishing village beset by wraiths. From there, they went further still, avoiding the groups of Tevinter mages they would occasionally see on the road or in the villages. Venatori, they called themselves. It was more trouble than Josephine or Evelyn was willing to deal with.

They kept it up for several weeks until the problems that plagued Evelyn's hand grew too strong for even her to ignore. It had begun in earnest not long after they'd left Redcliffe, starting out as small, infrequent tremors that she couldn't hide from Josephine now that they were sharing a bedroll and spending every waking moment together, but it didn't impede her ability to fight.

The tremors grew into spasms which sometimes left behind cramps that would linger for hours, but Evelyn still insisted on pressing on, even after breaking her wrist during a fight when her hand had unexpectedly let go of her shield. The final straw for Evelyn was when they'd had to leave a rift behind because she could barely move her arm let alone fight off demons or close the rift.

"Let's go back to Haven," Josephine had suggested as she'd gently massaged Evelyn's hand. "You said being closer to the temple helped."

"Yes, let's," Evelyn had agreed without argument.

-

It'd been over two months since they'd last been in Haven, but the village still looked almost exactly the same. Josephine supposed there weren't many people who would want to return to rebuild when the rift still loomed larger than ever in the skies above.

"There's got to be a place left standing where we can stay for the night," Evelyn said as she surveyed the village. The mark on her hand had quietened the closer they got to the rift, but Josephine could still see its green light through Evelyn's glove when in the early days nothing would seep through. "I'll take the left, you take the right, we'll meet up outside the chantry? I suppose it'll do if there's no other place, but it's bound to be quite draughty in there."

"Sounds good," Josephine said.

It was deathly quiet this high up in the mountains, even more so with the usual wildlife driven away by the presence of the rift. Even Josephine, who had not a shred of magic in her veins, could feel the Fade bleeding through the tear in the Veil, a foreboding tingle all over her skin that told her to keep away. But she had to stay, for Evelyn.

When the branches behind her rustled, Josephine was immediately on alert; weeks of travelling through demon-infested lands had honed her reflexes like no training program ever could. When she heard the definitive crunch of a footstep on the snow, she slipped a hand inside her cloak to rest on the hilt of the dagger Evelyn had insisted she carry on her hip.

"Who's there?" she called out as she turned and slowly backed up to put some distance between herself and the treeline.

"Hello, Josie." From between the snow-laden pines emerged a person Josephine had given up all hope of ever seeing again.

"Leliana? You're alive?" Overwhelmed with relief, Josephine couldn't stop herself from closing the distance between them and throwing her arms around Leliana.

"Yes, Josie, I am," Leliana said with a laugh as she hugged back. "And it's such a relief to see you well yourself."

"How did you—what are you doing here?"

"My little birds have been telling me some interesting stories about you and your new friend. I tried to get a message to you, but you've proven to be a difficult woman to find." There was a twinkle of pride in Leliana's eyes.

"I've been keeping busy." Josephine looked over her shoulder at where the glint of sunlight off metal marked Evelyn's position in the ruins.

"I know." Leliana reached into her pocket and drew out a badge that she presented to Josephine. "How would you like to join the Inquisition?"


End file.
